There are a wide variety of surgical instruments used in gynecological, thoracic, laparoscopic, robotic, and similar surgeries. Two (2) of the most common instruments are a retractor and a suction device. The retractor is commonly used to hold the bowel out of the surgical field, while the suction device is used to remove pooling blood and fluids via suction.
However, during laparoscopic surgery, these instruments must be used through very small openings in the patient's skin. Currently there is an open ended hard metal suction irrigator that can cause damage to the bowel by retracting with it or suctioning tissue that occludes the open tip. There is also an expandable retractor, but when it is removed to perform suction, exposure is lost.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which the functions of retraction and suction can be performed by a single device, without the disadvantages as described above.